A 27-year-old man accused of stealing cash from an Eastvale grocery store then fleeing with an accomplice pleaded not guilty Tuesday to grand theft.
Charles Ray Sanford Jr. of Eastvale was arrested last week, along with 26-year-old Elijah Alonzo Tucker of San Bernardino, following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
Both men were charged with grand theft. Tucker posted a $30,000 bond and was released from the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside hours after he was booked.
Sanford was arraigned Tuesday before Superior Court Judge Gary Polk, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Dec. 7 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The defendant was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bail at the downtown Riverside jail.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Jonathan Bodnar, at 9:25 p.m. on Nov. 21, Sanford walked into a grocery store in the 12000 block of Limonite Avenue, near Interstate 15, confronted a clerk and forcibly grabbed an undisclosed amount of cash from a register.
“The suspect fled from the store to an awaiting four-door Volkswagen,” Bodnar said.
He alleged that Sanford and Tucker fled the location in the VW as store staff called 911.
“Deputies immediately conducted an extensive search for the suspect vehicle,” the sergeant said, adding that it was spotted parked outside a residence in the 6000 block of Fairlane Avenue.
A search warrant was obtained and served at the property, where Sanford and Tucker were taken into custody without incident and “evidence of the crime, including the majority of the stolen money, was recovered,” Bodnar said.
Neither Sanford nor Tucker has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
Tucker is slated to be arraigned on Feb. 22.